Domaine Ghislaine Barthod

Overview

One of Chambolle-Musigny’s most celebrated estates. Ghislaine Barthod produces wines from a remarkable array of Chambolle premier crus (Les Charmes, Les Cras, Les Fuées, Les Véroilles, Les Beaux Bruns, among others). The wines are the epitome of Chambolle elegance: perfumed, light, and precise.

Appellations

• Chambolle-Musigny

Key Wines

• Chambolle-Musigny “Les Charmes” (1er cru)
• Chambolle-Musigny “Les Fuées” (1er cru)
• Chambolle-Musigny “Les Cras” (1er cru)
• Chambolle-Musigny “Les Véroilles” (1er cru)
• Chambolle-Musigny “Les Beaux Bruns” (1er cru)
• Village Chambolle-Musigny

Style Notes

Ghislaine Barthod’s wines are the quintessence of Chambolle: perfumed, silky, and precise. The broad array of premier cru parcels allows a fascinating exploration of Chambolle’s sub-terroirs within a single producer’s range. Each vineyard is vinified separately and expresses its own character with remarkable fidelity.

2023 Vintage Notes (VFTC #115)

Visited January 17, 2025 with Ghislaine and son Clement Boillot-Barthod. Tasted in the dining room by a crackling fire with two big dogs. Harvest began September 9th, picking only in mornings before the deluge on the 12th. An aggressive green harvest in July controlled crop load, accounting for superb depth and sappy concentration. Classical expressions of terroirs with plenty of red fruit. “A pretty dazzling array of 2023s.”

2023 Scores:

• Les Fuees: 95 pts (2038–2085) — “flawless les Fuees!”; sappy core, great mineral drive
• Les Cras: 95 pts (2038–2085) — “pure magic”; continuation of Bonnes-Mares on the slope
• Les Charmes: 94 pts (2038–2085) — two parcels (north near Chatelots, south near Hauts Doix); “great juice”
• Les Sentiers: 93+ pts (2038–2085) — vines 90+ years; “outstanding backend lift”; first produced 2017
• Gruenchers: 93+ pts (2038–2085) — vines ~70 years; outstanding backend energy
• Les Veroilles: 93 pts (2038–2080+) — very thin topsoils; tight on palate
• Les Noirots: 92+ pts (2038–2080+) — first bottled separately recently at Clement’s urging
• Les Chatelots: 92+ pts (2038–2080+) — lovely vein of spiciness
• Beaux Bruns: 92+ pts (2038–2080+) — one of the most black fruity wines in the cellar
• Les Combottes: 92 pts (2035–2080) — “very, very fine this year!”
• Chambolle-Musigny: 91 pts (2033–2075) — “particularly refined”
• Bourgogne “Bons Batons”: 88+ pts (2027–2040+)

2024 Vintage Notes (Burghound #101, barrel)

Met with Ghislaine Barthod and son Clément (slowly taking over both his mother’s domaine and father Louis Boillot’s). Clément noted 2024 “presented a seemingly unending series of challenges.” Poor flowering and virulent mildew; picked September 15-20; yields averaged 18 hl/ha (lowest ever), some vineyards 4-5 hl/ha. Potential alcohols 11.5-12%, added ~0.5%. Used zero new wood. Clément: “the wines remind me quite a bit of our 2021s but without the vague vegetal component.” Meadows: “the Barthod wines are almost always first-rate and the family has again produced several excellent examples in 2024.”

2024 Scores (barrel):

• Les Cras 1er: (91-93) — “utterly delicious, detailed and tautly muscular”; “very firm effort is also very promising”
• Les Baudes 1er: (91-93) — 45+ year old vines; “well-made effort should repay up to a decade of keeping”
• Les Noirots 1er: (91-93) — “gorgeous texture”; better volume and mid-palate density
• Les Sentiers 1er: (90-93) — .08 ha parcel; “excellent length is impressive”
• Les Beaux Bruns 1er: (90-93) — 50+ year old vines; “lovely and understated”
• Les Fuées 1er: (90-93) — 70+ year old vines; “relatively forward”
• Les Véroilles 1er: (90-93) — monopole at 1er level; “extremely pretty, indeed even delicate”
• Les Charmes 1er: (90-92) — “excellent punch”; touch of warmth
• Les Chatelots 1er: (90-92) — slightly more volume
• Les Combottes 1er: (89-92) — “could use better depth”
• Les Gruenchers 1er: (89-92) — “could also benefit from developing more depth”
• Chambolle-Musigny: (88-91) — from 7 lieux-dits totaling 1.5 ha; “super-sleek”
• Bourgogne “Les Bons Bâtons”: (86-88) — to enjoy young

My Tastings

(none yet)

Sources

• sources/articles/VFTC/VFTC Jan-Feb 2025 #115.txt
• sources/articles/VFTC/VFTC Jan-Feb 2026 #121.pdf
• sources/articles/Burghound/Burghound Issue 101 - 2024 and 2023 Cote de Nuits Reds.txt